WRNMMC - Abbott Medical Art Collection - David Stone Martin (1913-1992)


True to Life				Corpsmen Relax


Born in 1913, David Stone Martin had no formal art training beyond high school in Chicago and began his career as a graphic designer. Among his major projects were designs and murals for the "Century of Progress² Chicago World¹s Fair, art director of the Tennessee Valley Authority and as assistant to Ben Shahn, doing murals. He was artist-correspondent for Abbott Laboratories and Life magazine during WW II and was an art director in the Office of War Information. After the war he followed a freelance career with advertising clients such as the Disc Company of America, CBS Television and Lincoln Center. Martin used a calligraphic line that has been widely imitated. No one else, however, matched his ability to present the essence and mood of a subject in that very personal way. He illustrated over 400 albums with jazz a specialty. He also found time to teach - at the Brooklyn Museum School of Art in 1948-49, and at the Workshop School of Advertising and Editorial Art in New York in 1950.